Sweet Victory
by killslay
Summary: Blackbeard liked sweet things and there's nothing as sweet as victory. Blackbeard and Ace. Spoilers for Ep. 325 Oneshot Not!Yaoi
1. Blackbeard's Threat

(taps microphone) Ahem, testing, testing… Oda owns all of his wonderful characters and the world that they inhabit. I am a cheap hack who can't come up with my own characters/universe to save my life. Thank you and have a nice day.

(A/N) Every bad guy has his moment to shine. Blackbeard's a special villain and I'm really looking forward to seeing him again as One Piece progresses. Like every One Piece villain, I'm sure he'll get a chance to gloat later on. For now, here's my little tribute to one of the most awesome villains to appear on One Piece.

**Sweet Victory **

* * *

Blackbeard liked sweet things. A good piece of cherry pie, a swig of the sourly sweet rum…good, sweet things. But nothing was quite as sweet as victory. 

His defeat of Fire Fist Ace and his simultaneous claim of the title Shichibuki were as sweet a pair of victories as he could ever hope to gain. Such were the thoughts of Marshall D. Teach as he swaggered down to the brig of his newly acquired ship. Blackbeard seldom indulged in gloating, but drunk on his victories and the rum that his crew found in the galley made it irresistible. His former commander sat in his cell, arms bound behind his back with the sea-stone shackles that he'd thankfully had the foresight to bring. Fire Fist Ace was battered and bruised, his face bloody and his freckles stark against his pale skin. And yet he still glared defiantly at Blackbeard, refusing to cower before his former subordinate.

"You should've taken my offer." Blackbeard rumbled as he took another swig of his rum, "I'd've made you my first mate, second under the new Pirate Lord!"

"Sooner rot in hell than serve a traitor like you." Ace replied coldly, spitting a mouthful of blood at Blackbeard's feet.

"You should've told me that Straw Hat Luffy was your kid brother from the get go." Blackbeard continued, ignoring the crude gesture, "I should've guessed it, though, when I saw him."

Ace's head rose sharply, his eyes filled with an unknown fear. Blackbeard saw this and laughed.

"Yeah, I met your brother! Had him within arm's reach and let him go. 'Course, that was before I knew how high his bounty was. Shame, that kid had guts and the bruises to show for it!"

Blackbeard let out a harsh laugh as Ace's eyes went to the floor as fear for his little brother filled him.

"Looking back, I should've known he was your brother. The kid had terrible taste in food, for one. He had your stubborn nobility, too. Let himself get beat up by a bunch of punks calling themselves pirates till he was half-dead, just to prove himself!"

Blackbeard leaned downed until his face was level with Ace's, enjoying the delectable mixture of fear and anger in the boy's eyes.

"A kid that noble can't last that long as a pirate, Ace. As much as I admire the brat, it's gonna catch up with him sooner or later. I'll find that kid: with all the noise he makes, shouldn't be too hard. And when I do…"

Blackbeard paused for effect. A rat scuttled by and was swiftly caught by his Yami Yami powers. He held the furry, wriggling body in front of Ace's face. Ace's horrified expression was like honey on Blackbeard's tongue. He squeezed the rodent with an audible "snap" and let its broken body fall onto the rotting, crusted floor.

"Sweet dreams." Blackbeard chuckled as he stood up and began stumbling to the door. Ace's head drooped onto his chest, finally, truly defeated.

"Oh and by the way," Blackbeard paused at the base of the stairs. Ace's head only lifted a fraction, dreading what Blackbeard had to say as his parting shot.

"If I take Straw Hat Luffy alive, I'll request that you two share a cell in Impel Down. Good brothers like yourselves shouldn't be separated!"

Blackbeard's mocking laughter rang through the brig long after he'd left.


	2. Ace's Resolve

Sweet Victory

Part 2

I was a little overwhelmed at the insistent feedback to continue. I honestly hadn't planned to write past an oneshot, but if that's what the readers want…

There was a leak in the cell so that filthy floor was always caked in mud and silt. The dirt that sank into his wounds itched terribly, but Ace was in no position to move at all. His arms and shoulders ached from the strain of being in the same position for two days, his hands felt numb as the sea-stone cuffs cut off his circulation, and his ribs still hadn't healed from the beating he'd taken from Blackbeard. In short, he felt like shit.

Although it was quiet for once, he could not sleep and temporarily escape this misery. Too much weighed on his mind after Blackbeard left.

Luffy, that idiot of a little brother! Ace would have given anything to be able to warn him, but now he was no state to do anything. Damn Blackbeard, and damn himself for not being strong enough to take him out like he'd promised Whitebeard!

Over and over again, he ran the duel over in his mind trying to find where he'd failed, what he'd done wrong. He'd used his strongest attacks to no avail. Blackbeard had been too strong, that's all there was to it. He'd been too cocky, too assured of his own strength and underestimated Blackbeard. Damn it!

Not for the first time, Ace struggled against the sea-stone cuffs, hoping to make some kind of crack, a dent, anything! If he could only get one hand free, he'd… He'd do what? Surrounded on all sides by the sea and at the mercy of Blackbeard who'd easily defeated him while he was at full power, what could he hope to do?

The cruel, unyielding cuffs cut into his skin and his struggles only reopened the wounds on his wrists so that the salt of the cuffs was rubbed into the cuts. Ace gave a soft hiss of pain and sank back in exhaustion.

Luffy… He had to warn his brother at all costs. It didn't matter what happened to him, so long as Luffy was safe.

"Shit." Ace growled under his breath in frustration.

_Ace! _ He could almost hear Luffy's eager voice calling out to him. Luffy had always looked up to him and vowed to surpass him, even when he lost every fight they'd ever gotten into with each other. Ace's oldest memory was of running down the dirt path to their home with Luffy toddling behind him, struggling to keep up. It had been a little one-sided, their rivalry, but there were never any hard feelings. Ace, after all, had to look after his little brother. God knew, with a grandfather like Garp, _someone_ had to!

And Whitebeard… The old man had taken him in and offered him a place by his side. He looked after his nakama as though they were his own family. He'd saved Ace's life so many times in the early days, only asking for Ace's loyalty and dedication in return. He'd trusted Ace with this mission. And Ace had failed miserably. After Blackbeard received his title of Shichibuki, there was no telling what he would do next. This went beyond the killing of a nakama: Blackbeard planned to kill Whitebeard, himself! Ace swore he would die before he let that happen.

That was why he had to get free. That was why, if nothing else, he had to warn Whitebeard and Luffy about Blackbeard. He had to…

Ace let his back hit the rotted wood and stared up at the moldy ceiling. He wasn't afraid of death, he never had been. When you were pirate, it was just part of the job. You risked your life every day just by existing. If he died defending someone he loved or for something he believed in, that was fine. But somehow, the thought of dying in the hellhole known as Impel Down while dreading the news that Whitebeard had been taking down by one of his former subordinates or that Luffy had been captured as well seemed a fate worse than death.

"You watch me, old man." Ace muttered under his breath as he once again struggled in his hopeless battle against his unyielding bonds, "You watch. I'll get free. And you're gonna regret ever being born."


End file.
